Blue Jays' Brett Lawrie may rejoin team in 10 days or so

Blue Jays' Brett Lawrie may rejoin team in 10 days or so

DETROIT – Brett Lawrie might return to the Toronto Blue Jays lineup as early as April 19, general manager Alex Anthopoulos says.

Lawrie, who is recovering from a left rib-cage injury, has been “feeling great” while taking batting practice, fielding ground balls at third base and throwing across the infield during drills in Florida, the GM said Wednesday morning.

He is scheduled to play in his first game in extended spring training on Thursday. If all goes well, he might be ready to rejoin the club for the start of a home series against the New York Yankees on Friday, April 19, he said.

“He’s getting close,” Anthopoulos said. “We talked about it internally, maybe the New York series at home, maybe the [following] Baltimore series on the road. That would give him enough time in the minor leagues. If he goes out on a rehab assignment and has 10 at-bats and looks great, we wouldn’t be afraid to call him up then.”

Lawrie, the team’s regular third baseman, was injured more than a month ago while playing for Canada in an exhibition tuneup for the World Baseball Classic. After he re-started baseball activities in spring training, his work was scaled back because the injury was not responding well.

During their 2-5 start, the Blue Jays have missed Lawrie on both offence and defence. After just one full season in the majors, he is already regarded as one of the game’s top defensive third basemen.

Maicer Izturis has been shaky at times as the team’s primary third baseman so far. But Anthopoulos said Lawrie should not be seen as a saviour.

“He’s a really good player and he helps us in so many ways,” he said. “I don’t think the team’s built on one player, though. I don’t think it’s fair to say, ‘OK, Brett comes back and all of a sudden we’re going to take off.’ But there’s no question [about] what he does defensively, range, the energy he brings.”

Lawrie suffered a strain on his right side last year and missed a month. In spring training, Lawrie said his new injury, on the opposite side, was not nearly as serious. Already, however, he has missed more than a month.

“We can’t just rush him back,” Anthopoulos said. “We have to make sure he gets his at-bats. Last year when he came back there weren’t enough rehab games left because the [minor-league] seasons were all done, and he was a little shaky offensively for the first two weeks when he came back. We’re anxious to get him back because defensively, obviously, he’s a plus for us.”

Lawrie, a native of Langley, B.C., hit .273 with a .324 on-base percentage, 26 doubles and 11 home runs last season.